Latest Updates

Reminders:

Plenty of parking is available in Burlington, view an interactive parking map here!

Your first 2-hours of parking is FREE in city garages with entrances on Bank Street, Cherry Street, College Street and Battery Street

Toll-free Project Hotline:

There is a toll-free project number for public use: 1-888-988-4148. All calls/voicemails go directly to PC Construction and will be handled accordingly with the necessary parties

CityPlace Burlington (CPB) Update

Posted: 1/24/18

CityPlace Burlington demo is well underway! The parking garage for the former downtown mall is now closed as are the entrances off both Bank and Cherry Streets. Macy’s and Devonwood have closed the entrance that was once part of the former mall, but customers can still access the store from their Cherry Street entrance and through the Lakeview Garage entrance.

We have developed a map to help your employees and customers find parking as well as navigate on foot or bike. The map is attached and a link can be found here: (Downtown Parking and Pedestrian Map). If you have questions or comments, please let us know.

Current Work Schedule:

The demolition of the Burlington Town Center will be complete in three phase, the first completed by January 31st, 2018, while the second section between L.L. Bean and the garage will be complete by February 28, 2018. The final section, the BTC garage, will be completed by March 2018.

Interested in getting a better view of demolition? Viewing windows have been added inside the remaining portion of the mall - at the end of the corridor on the upper level just past L.L. Bean. We encourage you to check it out, but please note that it may be occasionally closed for safety reasons!

Holiday Construction Update 2

Posted: 12/11/17

You had concerns about the former downtown mall parking garage closing on December 11th. City staff and the Mayor’s office listened. The Mayor worked diligently with the City Place Burlington team to find a solution; one that will help ensure that shoppers and visitors enjoy downtown this holiday season.

Good news - the City Place Burlington (formerly Burlington Town Center) garage will be OPEN through December 25th. Both the Bank and Cherry Street entrances to the parking garage will remain OPEN until December 25th. Please note, the Cherry Street entrance will be reopened on Monday December the 11th. Both entrances and the former mall parking garage will close on the morning of December 26th.

As we mentioned in our last email, the Bank/Cherry Street entrances near Macy’s will remain open through the holiday season.

Reminders:

The Mall Garage will be open at all entrances through December 25th

Remember Downtown is Open for Business!

There are NO street closures.

Two-way traffic will flow on Bank & Cherry Street.

Plenty of parking is available in Burlington, view an interactive parking map here!

Your first 2-hours of parking if FREE in city garages with entrances on Bank Street, Cherry Street, College Street and Battery Street.

The BBA and Church Street Marketplace are providing $3 worth of FREE on-street parking on Saturdays during the Holiday Shopping Season, for more information click here!

Holiday Construction Update 1

Posted: 12/1/17

As of Friday November 17th, the downtown mall, now known as City Place Burlington (CPB) received an encumbrance permit. This permit allows the construction crews to close sidewalks and some parking on portions of Bank and Cherry Streets. To help you see which parts of Bank and Cherry Streets are within this permit, please see our latest map.

Recent Work:

Construction street signage has been put up on Bank Street between Pine Street and St. Paul Street and on Cherry Street between Church Street and Battery Street.

The sidewalk and green belt on the north side of Bank Street between Pine and St. Paul (closest to the former mall) has been closed and on-street metered parking spaces have been removed to allow for temporary fencing and jersey barriers. This closure provides an area for the project’s contractors to begin work and ensures the safety of the public.

Latest Updates:

Saturday, December 2nd: Thirteen parking meters will be bagged on Cherry Street (between the transit center and the entrance to Macy’s) to allow for clearance of cars prior to a partial encumbrance, beginning on Monday, December 4th (please see below).

Monday, December 4th: The crosswalk and sidewalk on the south side (closest to the project) of Cherry between Macy’s and LL Bean will be closed as fencing and jersey barriers are placed. A temporary crosswalk will be placed in front of Macy’s to allow for safe pedestrian crossing.

The entrance to the BCP parking garage on Cherry Street will also be closed. However, the entrance for Bank Street will remain open for customer use (see below regarding the garage).

The BCP parking garage to be open through December 10th. Devonwood had been hoping to keep it open until the end of the month, however, due to construction timing, fire sprinkler systems will be exposed to weather and might possibly freeze making it inoperable should a fire arise. Thus as a safety measure, the garage access from Bank Street will be closed December 11th.

The Bank/Cherry Street mall entrances near Macy’s will remain open through the holiday season to allow customers access to Macy’s.

Further information including maps of available parking and pedestrian routes is in progress for use for employees and customers.

Reminders:

Remember Downtown is Open for Business!

There are NO street closures.

Two-way traffic will flow on Bank & Cherry Street.

Plenty of parking is available in Burlington, view an interactive parking map here!

Your first 2-hours of parking is FREE in city garages with entrances on Bank Street, Cherry Street, College Street and Battery Street.

The BBA and Church Street Marketplace are providing $3 worth of FREE on-street parking on Saturdays during the Holiday Shopping Season, for more information click here!

Encumbrance Permit Issued

Posted: 11/21/17

The encumbrance permit was issued on Friday November 17. The upcoming schedule and description of work at the project site is as follows:

Week of 11/20/2017: Begin installing temporary street signage for BTC construction encumbrance. Signage will be bagged/covered through 11/26/2017, as necessary.

11/21/2017: Close the north Bank Street sidewalk and on-street metered parking spaces. Temporary fencing will be installed along the curb line and all parking meters will be bagged.

11/22/2017: Relocate temporary fencing on Bank Street into the roadway to include on-street parking lane within PC’s construction limits. Two-way traffic will remain unencumbered between Pine and St. Paul Streets.

Week of 11/27/2017: PC will begin installing construction encumbrance jersey barriers and fencing. PC construction will start with installation on Bank street, followed by installation on Cherry Street. PC anticipates a duration of no longer than two weeks to set jersey barriers.

Per the agreement between the Developer and Macy’s, PC will be deviating from Phase 1 of our submitted encumbrance plan by allowing the Bank/Cherry Street mall entrances near Macy’s to remain open through the holiday season. The Cherry Street parking garage entrance will also remain open through at least the end of November 2017. PC will be implementing the full scope of Phase 1 after the first of the year 2018.

City of Burlington and Devonwood Release Draft Development Agreement

Posted: 10/4/17

Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger released the following statement today regarding the City and Devonwood’s release of the draft Burlington City Place Development Agreement:

“For years, the City and Devonwood have pursued together an effort to bring much-needed housing, jobs, and environmental improvements to Burlington’s downtown and reinvent our failing downtown mall as a vibrant new neighborhood. The agreement has been carefully negotiated to protect the City from financial risk, forward community initiatives, and support the progress of this transformative downtown project. It is time to get this long-awaited project built – I respectfully urge the Council to approve the Development Agreement at its October 16 meeting.”

This draft Development Agreement represents one of the final steps of the joint effort prior to the start of construction. The agreement builds on the substantial work completed in the Pre-Development Agreement approved overwhelmingly by the Burlington City Council in May 2016, and resolves a path forward on a number of previously open issues, including:

Through a series of detailed conditions, requiring the developer to participate in the District Energy System if the City is able to deliver the system in a timely manner and at a competitive cost. A District Energy System is a critical strategy in the City’s effort to become a Net Zero City over the next 10-15 years.

Detailing the process for design, bidding, construction, and payment for the public improvements. These details comprise fourteen pages of the document and have been negotiated to ensure that the City secures high-quality public improvements at a fair price and is protected from construction risk and delay.

Securing additional funds from the project to support local businesses and expanded communication efforts, on top of prior commitments to support job fairs and other activities to ensure local residents are aware of new opportunities created by the project.

Determining the manner in which Devonwood will compensate the City for its development permit fees through a combination of cash and land contribution.

Meeting for Area Businesses (9/7/17) Presentation and Notes

Posted September 14, 2017

On September 7th a meeting for local businesses provided updates on the Burlington City Place construction plans, project timing, and communication strategies to make sure your customers know the downtown is open for business and accessible throughout the project. The meeting was hosted by City officials and the Burlington City Place project team, PC Construction, Church Street Marketplace, and Burlington Business Association (BBA).

The 2-way traffic plan for Bank St. that was presented in the previous meeting on July 20th was approved, but an alternative plan to maintain parking on Bank St. was presented as a new option. This alternative would maintain parking on one side of Bank St. for the one block between St. Paul and Pine and make it one-way rather than two-way, with traffic flowing from west to east. Please provide feedback, questions or comments regarding traffic and parking to Norm Baldwin, City Engineer, DPW: nbaldwin@burlingtonvt.gov

Presentation and Notes from BTC Redevelopment Meeting for Area Businesses

Posted: 8/3/17

On July 20, 2017, the City hosted a meeting for businesses in the area of the redevelopment. The purpose of the meeting was to have the developer's project consultants, PC Construction, share the proposed Encumbrance Plan, which details the plans for managing the public right of way and parking in and around the project site (particularly along Bank and Cherry Streets) during demolition and construction for the duration of the redevelopment. You may find the full presentation and notes from the meeting below. If you have any questions, you may reach out to Noelle MacKay, Director of CEDO, at 802-865-7174 or nmackay@burlingtonvt.gov.

Here is a list of scheduled meetings that are slated to address the BTC redevelopment:

Development Review Board: At their meeting on February 21st, the DRB closed the public hearing for this project, and has scheduled a Deliberative Session on Monday March 6 beginning at 5pm in the Planning & Zoning Office in City Hall. Members of the public are welcome to attend, but should know that no additional public testimony will be taken at this meeting.

Next Steps for BTC Redevelopment Following November 8th Local Election Results

Posted November 21, 2016

On November 8, 2016, two ballot items related to the Burlington Town Center redevelopment passed with a simple majority. The first item was the adoption of the proposed Downtown Mixed Use Core (DMUC) Overlay zoning amendment (ZA 16-14). You can find more information about the amendment here. The second was approval of the use of up to $21.8M in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to fund public improvements to Bank and Cherry streets and the acquisition, construction, and streetscape improvements on Pine and St. Paul Streets. More info on how TIF will work in relation to the BTC redevelopment here.

What’s next? The City must finalize a Development Agreement with the owner of BTC over the next couple of months, and the owner must also submit redevelopment plans for the necessary permits. The permitting process will include public reviews of the proposed project and its design by the Design Advisory Board, Development Review Board, and Conservation Board. The public is invited to attend these meetings and provide input to the boards during the public forum.

Devonwood Investors, owner and developer of the Burlington Town Center, unveiled updated project sketch plans for the project that respond to several suggestions from the public and the City's Boards and Commissions over the summer. These updated plans also meet all of the requirements of the proposed Downtown Mixed Use Core Overlay zoning. Revisions to the plans include reducing the mass of the upper story portions; adding housing to the facades on Cherry and Bank to buffer the parking garage from street view; eliminating the underground, interior east-west corridor bringing all retail and services to street level; and modifications to the facade articulation and materials to meet the prescriptive urban design standards of the proposed zoning. Updated plans can be reviewed, here.

City Evaluation of Market Feasibility Assessment and Developer Capability Online

Posted October 19, 2016

The City of Burlington engaged ECONorthwest to advise the City of Burlington regarding the redevelopment of the Burlington Town Center. EcoNorthwest assessed Devonwood's development capacity to successfully execute the redevelopment of the Burlington Town Center Site, and vetted the feasibility of the redevelopment plan. These documents are located in the project document library, here, under "Most Recent Documents"

Market Feasibility Assessement Now Online

Posted September 26, 2016

A report prepared for Burlington City Council, by Doug Kennedy Advisors on behalf of Devonwood Investors, LLC, is now available online, here. The report summarizes a market analysis designed to assess the market-based feasibility of the redevelopment of the Burlington Town Center as proposed.

Public Hearing on Proposed DMUC Overlay September 29

Posted September 13, 2016

At it's meeting on September 12, the City Council voted on a number of amendments to the proposed Downtown Mixed Use Core Overlay Zoning Amendment. The Council also voted to warn the revised amendment for public hearing. The Public Hearing on the proposed amendment will take place on Thursday, September 29, 2016 at 7:00pm in Contois Auditorium, City Hall, 149 Church Street. The revised version of the proposed amendment, as it was warned for public hearing, is available online, here.

Presentation on Public Space Improvements Now Online

Posted September 12, 2016

Burlington Town Center Public Space Improvements: Restoring the Grid, Activating City Life, a presentation which provides information on the proposed street connectivity and nearby public improvements associated with the redevelopment of the Burlington Town Center is now available. Reconnecting St. Paul and Pine Streets to restore north-south connectivity, and the activation of Cherry Street to connect Church Street to the Lake are two key goals of planBTV Downtown & Waterfront and were important elements in the public discussion of this project. Without the City’s investment in these public improvements using TIF, the public improvements likely would not be included in the project, and the project itself would likely occur in a significantly different or less desirable way than proposed. The presentation is available online, here.

Model Available at Fletcher Free Library

Posted August 11, 2016

A three-dimensional model of a portion of the downtown, in which the proposed BTC Project and the proposed Downtown Mixed Use Core Overlay zoning amendment would apply, is available for public viewing at Fletcher Free Library during regular library hours. The model features existing buildings in the downtown, as well as the proposed Burlington Town Center project; the model was built to assist the community in its evaluation of the project. As part of the Predevelopment Agreement with City Council, funds to prepare the model were provided by the mall owner. The informational display located with the model is available online, here. Additional pedestrian-level, photo realistic views of the proposed BTC project within the downtown context are available, here.

Proposed Downtown Mixed Use Core Overlay Amendment sent to City Council

Posted July 19, 2016

Following its July 6 Public Hearing, the Planning Commission sent the proposed Downtown Mixed Use Core (DMUC) Overlay Zoning Amendment to City Council. The Planning Commission will complete a letter with the members' comments regarding the proposed amendment, and send it to the City Council for consideration at a later date. The City Council received the proposed amendment at their July 11 meeting and referred it to the Ordinance Committee to review. City Council has asked the Ordinance Committee to refer the amendment back to the full Council for a work session at its August 15 meeting. The Council will schedule two additional work sessions to discuss the amendment on August 18 and 24.

Board & Commission Meetings Schedule Update

Posted May 27, 2016

The proposed DMUC Zoning Amendment and plans for the proposed redevelopment of the BTC Mall site will be on agendas at these upcoming Board & Commission meetings. Agendas for these meetings can be found on the Planning & Zoning website, here. Agendas for these meetings are typically posted the week prior to a meeting; check the Board & Commission pages for updates.

The proposed redevelopment of the Burlington Town Center Mall is a transformative project in our downtown. Many residents have either attended one or more of the six public events and engagement sessions related to the redevelopment, attended City Council and Planning Commission meetings to provide comment, or have submitted questions and comments to these boards, staff, and the mall owner. The City has compiled a list of frequently asked questions to provide clarity and information around issues such as zoning, height, public process, the role of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) in the project, and other City commitments. You may find the FAQ document here, as well as a form to submit other comments or questions about the project here.

Sun Studies, Photovisualizations, and 3D "Fly-over" Model Available

Posted May 20, 2016

The BTC Mall Team has made a series of before-and-after images from various locations around the City available for review. Additionally, a 3-D "fly-over" model and animated sun studies have been provided. To view these documents, please click here, and and find the links to download under "Current BTC Mall Proposed Plans."

City Council-Approved Predevelopment Agreement available

Posted May 4, 2016

On May 2nd, the City Council approved a Predevelopment Agreement between the City of Burlington and the mall property owner, Don Sinex’s BTC Mall Associates LLC, for the redevelopment of the Burlington Town Center mall. The Approved Predevelopment is available here: City Council-Approved Predevelopment Agreement, 5-2-16, and additional documents related to this project,please click here.